Generations mingle at Naperville Senior Citizen Prom

Lifelong Naperville resident Ken Meisinger said he and his wife, Kathleen, attended the annual Senior Citizen Prom on Sunday for a simple reason.

“We love to dance,” he said with a smile. “Well, the food is good, too.”

The Senior Citizen Prom is organized by the junior and senior class councils at Naperville Central High School. Active seniors age 50 and up from the Naperville area are invited to put on their dancing shoes and enjoy an afternoon of food, music and friendship.

Sunday’s prom took place at the Naperville Park District’s Alfred Rubin Community Center.

“It’s a nice tradition that the school does for the community,” said Elizabeth Sauer, Naperville Central’s senior class president. “It’s a way to give back.”

Sunday’s prom had a Mardi Gras theme; the student councils usually repeat the theme that was used at their own winter dance, Sauer said.

Kathleen Meisinger said it means a lot that the younger generation is still willing to reach out to local seniors.

“It leaves you with a nice feeling,” she said. “And the students are so nice and so friendly. They dance with us and really make us feel welcome.”

Music was provided Sunday by the Ballroom Big Band. A number of local businesses donated items that were used as door prizes.

Kathleen Meisinger said the event reminded her a little bit of her own prom.

“It’s the fact that the room is decorated like this,” she said. “How many times do you dance in a decorated room?”

The Meisingers sent three boys through Naperville Central High School, and Ken Meisinger is an alumnus himself. (Meisinger’s family owned a farm on the south end of the community, and a street in that area bears the family name.)

“I’ve lived here all my life, and there’s our connection to the school,” he said. “So this is fun.”